About the High Line

The High Line is a new public park, built on an elevated 1930s rail structure located on Manhattan's West Side. It runs from Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District to 34th Street. The first section of the High Line opened to the public in June 2009. The High Line is property of the City of New York, and is maintained and operated by the non-profit Friends of the High Line, in partnership with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation.

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Gardener Johnny Linville clears a path through the Chelsea Grasslands.

Come see the High Line in its stylish white coat! After the snow stopped falling early this morning, our Maintenance and Operations team spent several hours using snow blowers, shovels and an eco-friendly de-icer to clear the High Line’s paths and stairways. The park is now open south of 16th Street, and we expect a complete opening very soon. UPDATE: The entire park is now open!

We love this shot by Tim Schenck of Silman Associates, the High Line’s structural engineering firm. It shows the progress, and the context, of the new access point at 30th Street, what will be the northernmost point of Section 2.

February is unexpectedly interesting for blooms on the High Line. This month features three plants: witch hazel (Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Pallida’), Dawn bodnant viburnum (Viburnum x bodnantense ‘Dawn’), and sweet box (Sarcococca hookeriana).

The rose-colored buds in the picture above are the beginnings of blooms on a Dawn bodnant viburnum, a shrub that flowers during the bleakest part of the winter. Its clusters of flowers have an excellent fragrance in late winter/early spring.

Artist Spencer Finch was profiled on Thirteen’s Sunday Arts Profile last weekend. His installation The River That Flows Both Ways is the first major artwork on the High Line, and was commissioned in partnership with Creative Time and the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation.

This afternoon, our crews are finishing waterproofing work on the southernmost part of the High Line’s Section 2, near 20th Street. Waterproofing the top layer of screed concrete will prevent standing rainwater and damage to the structural steel and concrete. It will also prevent swamp-like conditions in the planting beds after a heavy rain, which can lead to mold and rot.

The above photo shows the second of a three-step waterproofing process. First, a clear coat of primer is rolled onto the concrete. Next, a mustard yellow-colored coat is sprayed over the primer. And finally, a lighter yellow-colored coat is sprayed over the top. Once everything dries, the concrete planking can be laid down. Next Monday, the construction crew is expecting to start the planking installation just north of 20th Street. Planking installation includes setting pedestals, sleepers, and concrete planks onto the waterproofed base. Get ready to start seeing transformation just beyond the 20th Street gate!

We’re pleased to bring you news of another major milestone towards the full preservation of the High Line at the West Side Rail Yards. The Department of City Planning announced today that it has certified the City’s application for approval of future acquisition of the High Line above 30th Street.

This certification kicks off the seven-month Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), during which there will be several opportunities for public input. Along the way, we hope you will come out and show your support for the High Line’s preservation, as you have so many times before. We will push for the City to take ownership of the High Line and ensure that its future is determined by the public.

Though today’s announcement does not guarantee preservation of the High Line, the City’s move toward High Line acquisition is a major positive step towards achieving our ultimate goals: full preservation of the historic structure north of 30th Street, including the 10th Avenue Spur, and completion of the High Line project all the way to 34th Street.

American Coneflower in bloom below the Diller-von Furstenberg Sundeck.

Feeling under the weather? According to High Line gardener Kyla Dippong, the park is a “veritable pharmacy.” Many of Section 1’s 210 species of plants offer simple remedies, quite a few of which were used by Native Americans long before the advent of the pharmacy as we know it today.

As you continue to battle the cold and flu season, here are a few of our favorite medicinal plants to keep in mind, most of which can be found easily in your local drugstore or herbal remedy shop (but NOT by picking them off the High Line).